Mended Hearts
by Lana Atkins
Summary: Will Ryoga have his own happy ending? Love has a funny way of surprising you, especially when the path is cleared by someone unexpected. old fanfic, please forgive inconsistencies and bad writing. :wince:


**Mended Hearts**

**By Lana Atkins**

Ryoga trudged through the empty streets of Nerima. His back was bent over his red umbrella, and carrying his worn out pack proved to be a great burden after many miles of walking, but he had only one thing on his mind that day.

Akane.

Though his whole body throbbed with an unpleasant ache, the thought of seeing her again kept putting one foot in front of the other. Now if he could only find the way to her house.

Finally, the lost boy caught sight of the back of the old dojo connected to her house, and a smile drew across his rugged face.

_I'm going to see her again, finally after so long— wait for me, Akane-san, I'll be there soon._

But as always, Ryoga, like many of our beloved characters, had impeccably bad timing. At that very moment, the old lady that has little else to do with life other than using her time to slosh water on unsuspecting passers-by with that annoying little bucket, happened to do it again that fateful morning. Ryoga felt his body rapidly change into its other form.

"Bwee!" belted out the little pig angrily, to which the old woman paid no notice and went on with her business. Ryoga's clothes and things lay abandoned on the sidewalk. He decided to get some hot water to retrieve them later. He bounded his way to the entrance of Akane's house.

* * *

Akane awakened to the beautiful sound of the chirping birds outside her window. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Opening them, she was pleased to see it was a wonderful crisp morning.

"It looks like it going to be a lovely day," she said to herself. "I think I'll take a jog. Since Ranma's away on another trip, I might as well enjoy the peace while I still have it."

Akane got out of bed, and threw her jogging outfit on. She could hear Kasumi waking up, and Nabiki snoring away through the walls of her room. She chuckled.

_Nabiki never was a morning person. Come to think of it, the only time she's innocent is when she's asleep._

She marched herself down to the hallway passing into the kitchen, singing to herself the new pop song that had been in her head since the day before.

Suddenly she saw a familiar flash of black running toward her, and she opened her arms to it, bending down slightly.

"P-Chan! Where've you been? Mommy has missed you so much!" she said, hugging the piglet close to her, not noticing the look of ecstacy on the its face.

_Oh Akane-san, how I've missed you! I'm so glad God gave me the opportunity to see your beautiful face once again. _Ryoga said in his little piglet voice.

All Akane heard was, obviously, "Bwee!"

"Well my little baby, I was planning to go for a jog, but since you're here, let's go outside to the garden instead and keep each other company."

She exited the dining room and placed her bare feet on the soft grass. Still holding her 'P-Chan', she sat down near the koi pond, staring at the koi swimming almost gracefully.

"What a beautiful day, ne, P-Chan?" she told her 'pet', to which the pig nodded violently.

Akane tilted her pretty head to the sky and sighed.

_How wonderfully peaceful it is today—you can hardly find days like this now. I guess it's because Ranma always seems to attract trouble. It's always chaotic when he's around— But things just aren't the same when he's not._

Ryoga noticed the faraway expression on Akane's face. He knew there was only ONE person who could give her that look.

_What did Ranma do to her now?! I swear if he made her sad in any way—I'll make him pay! _

"Oh P-Chan," Akane whispered. "Why do I always think about Ranma? I— I just don't know what to do sometimes. Just looking into his eyes—I get lost in them. It's like…being in love, don't you think?"

The pig bwee'd in dismay; its eyes watery. But Akane continued, not noticing a thing.

"How's it going to work between us though? He's always chasing after one of his fiancées, and they're all so, so much prettier than me. That's what he never fails to tell me, anyway. We always fight. I wish all this craziness in our lives would end, or at least I hope that someday, he'll find happiness—even if it isn't with me."

Ryoga said nothing. He already knew that the words out of Akane's mouth were of true love. He had known for quite some time, but never really accepted it.

Akane looked down at him, smiling. "It'll be our little secret okay? Sorry I bore you with all my little concerns. But it's nice to talk to someone who won't insult me all the time. Oh P-Chan—I hope he's okay."

Ryoga knew he would start crying any second, he burst out of Akane's arms and out of the house, hearing Akane's startled, "Oh!" on his way out.

"P-Chan, come back!"

* * *

Ryoga didn't look back; he knew it would hurt too much. He made his way to Ucchan's where Ukyo found him some hot water and his clothes, which she came across earlier.

After taking a bath, he sat quietly on the chair by the okonomiyaki grill, his chin in his hand.

"What's up, sugar?" asked a concerned Ukyo, bending over the grill.

"Nothing, Ukyo, but thanks for asking."

"You sure? If you'd like, I could whip up another okonomiyaki, on the house."

"Again, thanks a lot, but I think I gotta go." Ryoga's tired, sad expression never left his face.

"Okay, Ryoga honey, you take care of yourself."

"Bye."

Stepping outside, he gazed, lost, into the beautiful Neriman sky as the clouds formed into the face of Akane smiling, Akane laughing. Akane tending to him, her hazel eyes fixed on his…

Ryoga sighed.

_Oh my Akane-san…if anyone deserves to be happy it's you—and if Ranma really is the one you love, then I swear.. I'll do everything in my power until you find the happiness you desire!_

He took off as fast as his legs could take him and tore down the streets, trying to remember where Ranma had told him he and his father had decided to train.

* * *

Dodge. Kick. Punch.

Ranma aimed a powerful leg straight at Genma's head, to which the man ducked and brought his leg under his son's to trip him.

Ranma jumped easily, this time throwing a punch to his dad's stomach sending him backward. Genma retaliated and threw one of his own.

_This trip bites. We train at home; it should be enough. It's pretty much the same stuff anyway. Frankly, I'd rather eat Akane's cooking than be out here with that old man for two weeks. Okay, maybe not. But it's still pretty terrible._ Ranma inwardly grumbled.

The two had been fighting from sunrise to sundown with very little rest. Genma had told him it was all to increase his strength, but knowing the man all his life made Ranma wonder which storeowner his father was hiding from after weaseling out of paying the bill.

Genma shot a high kick into the air and felt it connect with flesh. A smile of triumph dawned on his face, but only briefly, seeing as his son was on the other side of the clearing.

Ryoga saw stars before hitting the ground heavily, falling flat on his face.

* * *

The sound of waves hugging the shore surrounded him, as the palm trees hovered above Ryoga's head. As he opened his eyes, he found himself wondering where he had gotten lost again.

_Ryoga-sama…_

A voice sounded through the silence of space as its waves seemed to relax him.

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon a blurry shape moving towards him and he automatically flew into a fighting stance. But as the shape moved closer, all he could see were two deep, brown eyes staring at him with such gentleness that he lowered his hands to his sides. At first, Akane crept into his mind, but when the shape was almost in front of him, it cleared to reveal a beautiful girl with long, dark hair flowing about her shoulders. The girl enclosed her hands around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder, and for a moment, Ryoga thought he might be dead.

_Who is this girl? _He thought.

The whole time, she never took her eyes off his. Pink lips whispered into his ear and seemed to slow down everything around him, slowly moving towards his own…

Ryoga…

Ryoga.

"RYOGA!"

The girl's face melted to reveal an amused Ranma staring directly into his face while hanging upside down from a branch in the tree above him.

"It's about time ya woke up. How're ya feelin'?"

"I'm fine. I've taken worse."

Ranma flipped himself unto the branch, and then joined Ryoga on the ground, while the lost boy sat up, propping himself against the tree.

"Sooo P-Chan," grinned his rival. "Mind tellin' me what you're doin' here?"

Ryoga grit his teeth in anger, but soon remembered what he had come here to do.

"Don't call me P-Chan."

Ranma waited for an answer. None came.

"Well?"

A look of pain flashed upon Ryoga's face as he said, "I came here to talk to you. About Akane."

The pig-tailed boy's face paled for a second, worried about his fiancée. But it soon changed into a smirk.

"What has the tomboy gotten herself into this time?"

Fire flashed in the lost boy's eyes and he yelled, throwing punches at Ranma, "DON'T EVER CALL AKANE NAMES IN FRONT OF ME!"

_Whoa, this guy is messed up. Still, better not get him angry. _thought Ranma, who evaded every punch effortlessly.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry! Geez!"

Ryoga stopped, calming down. He went back to his spot and sat down wearily. "Where's your dad?"

Ranma smirked. "I saw him being chased after by some storeowners. He won't be back until muuuucch later.' An eyebrow cocked questioningly. ' What was it about Akane that ya wanted to talk about?"

Ryoga put a strong arm to the back of his head as he rested under the oak, but his mind was somewhere else. All he could think about was Akane. What did she see in Ranma anyway? He was mean to her, he called her names, and he was always being chased after by some other girl.

What could he have done to ever make Akane fall in love with him?

Closing his eyes, he tried his best not to let the tears fall as he told Ranma everything.

* * *

Ryoga didn't think he would make it through the whole painful ordeal. The bottom line was; He had lost to his rival. He had thought he could get over their past by winning Akane's heart, and now even that had been ripped away from him. He saw the shock on Ranma's face and the joy that Ranma was trying to hide. He bitterly concluded that Ranma need not have bothered.

Ranma couldn't explain the joy in his heart with the knowledge that Akane loved only him.

She was **his**. He had made that clear to Kirin, Toma, and all the other guys who wanted to marry her. And he had already known since the episode with Saffron that he loved her, and she was the only girl that could ever make him complete. He was suddenly seized by an uncontrollable desire to see her, to take her in his arms and just hold her, right then and there.

Then he remembered Ryoga, and turned his head back to the bandanna-clad wanderer.

The boy had his head down and Ranma realized that he had turned very silent. They sat on the ground in awkward silence; Ranma not knowing what to say to a guy who just had his heart broken.

"Ryoga.." he said quietly, breaking the silence. "Why're ya tellin' me this? You are just as much as in love with Akane as... as I am."

"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this…for Akane. I—I just want her to be happy. She's the only person in this world that has ever mattered to me. I've seen her kindness, her pureness of heart, and I know that she deserves to be with the person she—she l-loves…" A slight pause as his expression grew grim.

"But I'm warning you Ranma. If you ever hurt her—I **will** kill you."

Ranma, for once, listened with the utmost seriousness. He was filled with a renewed respect for the boy before him. He knew what Ryoga had been through, the rejection, listening to all Akane had said while in his cursed form. Wondering what to say, only one thing came to his mind. He smiled in gratitude at the boy, as he whispered:

"Thank you, Ryoga."

* * *

**Two years later**

The mountains of the Himalayas were coated with layers and layers of sleet.

_Even colder than_ _when I was last here._ Ryoga pulled his yellow shirt tighter around him. Shivering slightly, he threw his backpack into the snow, pulled his bandanna off and yelled into the medium of nothingness,

"How the hell did I get here!?!"

He slumped dejectedly in the snow and threw the lid of his pack open as he rummaged through souvenirs and bits of unused stuff from the various locations he had gotten lost in. With a cry of triumph, he pulled out his canteen and began to open it, when a small card dropped off the side of it.

Curious, he took it up in his hands and slid a picture out of the card. For the first time in a long while, he looked upon the face of an older, matured, but still stunning woman.

He stopped breathing for a second as he traced his fingers upon the soft features. Akane had grown to be more like Kasumi in the two years that passed. Her habits, following her appearance, had become gentler, as he heard from Ranma when they indulged in the rare conversations they had.

His mind brought him back to the night when he and Ranma had returned to Nerima. He just watched from below Akane's window, as she and Ranma sat side by side on her bed, talking. Then he saw the boy reach for her hand, her surprised face, and the kiss that seemed to go on forever, as if tormenting him. And he had walked away.

Ryoga saw the person next to her. Ranma. It happened to be their wedding photo. He opened the card and laid eyes upon the gold lettering,

**_Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo cordially invite you to their_ _wedding, on the 2nd of November, 20-- _**

****

****

_Akane-san, I know you're happy now— and it makes me glad to think that I had something to do with that happiness. I wish you all the best._

After looking at the photograph one last time, he put it back in his bag and got to his feet. A little too quickly apparently, as he slipped on the ice, throwing his half-opened canteen of now freezing water high into the air and all over himself.

As he felt the transformation take place, he cursed himself.

_IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT!!!_

The black piglet sat on the ice and wondered what to do. Coming up with a big zero, he snuggled his way into the abandoned clothes, and tried to get warm. He knew he must have nodded off sometime later, because all he could see were beaches of ice and a sun with rays made of icicles around it.

A voice sounded in the distance. Ryoga was still in his dream, but he could have sworn that he heard that voice somewhere before.

"Kimi!"

Ryoga bounded awake, still under his clothes. A dainty hand pulled the collar of his shirt up, peering inside. It was a girl. Ryoga's eyes opened wide. His mind swam with the fragments of past dreams and memories..

_I've seen this girl before…_

The girl smiled sweetly. "You're not Kimi! But you are awfully sweet.. did you escape from the dojo? You see, I was looking for my sumo piglet, Kimi…I let her out by accident."

Ryoga could not take his eyes off her. If there was one girl in the world who could rival Akane for beauty, it would have been her. She had long brown locks, big brown eyes, and that gentleness..

The girl picked Ryoga up gently, which shocked him out of his trance, and cradled him like a baby. "I'm Akari. What luck it is that I found you! You would have frozen to death in this weather in this side of Japan."

_Japan? So much for the Himalayas._

Akari continued. "I guess I could look for Kimi later. She's quite fat, so she should be warm and fine until there's enough light to look for her." Noticing the clothes and backpack, she added, "I might as well take these.. maybe the person who lost them will find our dojo and get it back."

She took the things in her arms and began trudging back through the snow. Looking down at the piglet and giving it another angelic smile, she whispered in his ear.

"Don't worry, sweetie, when we get back to the dojo, I'll draw a nice hot bath to warm you up."

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

I FINISHED IT! Another fanfic complete! That's number three.

-Does victory dance-

After two long months, here are the results. I like a happy ending for everyone in my fics—so I did one for Ryoga. I see Ryoga as kind of an honorable guy (when he's not sleeping with Akane that is) so I think he deserved his own happy ending. So the idea for this fanfic popped into mind.

Sorry if the characters seem a little OOC but there's basically nothing I can think of that would make them handle their situations better than they did. Oh, and once again, review please. :)

If you'll excuse me—I have a victory dance to finish.

Lana Atkins


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